The Legal Equestrian

What’s in your meat?

Infographic Courtesy of the ASPCA.

Infographic Courtesy of the ASPCA.

Every year about 130,000 American horses are shipped to Canada or Mexico to be slaughtered for human consumption. Horses are also slaughtered for human consumption in other countries, as horse meat is considered a delicacy there. While some areas, such as the European Union, have a specific regulatory system set in place to ensure that horses with dangerous, deadly substances in their body are not allowed to enter the food chain, other countries, like the United States, do not. This means that the horses being slaughtered in Canada and Mexico have dangerous, potentially lethal or terminal illness causing substances in them, like the ever famous Bute.

The ASPCA recently launched a new campaign, #NotWhatIOrdered, to bring awareness to this issue. Obviously, horse slaughter is a controversial subject, with some falling on the line of it being better than having abused and neglected horses overcrowding auctions and being set into the wild where they cannot fend for themselves; others believe horse slaughter is inhumane and that the consumption of horse meat is a complete taboo, akin to eating a cat or a dog.

According to the ASPCA,

Horses are routinely given chemicals toxic to humans, including anabolic steroids, stimulants and cobra venom. These drugs, over 50 of which are prohibited for use in food animals, can cause severe health problems like aplastic anemia, liver cancer and liver disease in humans.

Additionally, there are substances given to horses that can seep into a human’s skin

Infographic Courtesy of the ASPCA.

Infographic Courtesy of the ASPCA.

immediately upon contact and have an horrible outcome, such as hormonal treatments for broodmares that can cause abortions if the person the chemical comes in contact with is pregnant.

The ASPCA has put together a petition to help bolster support for the Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act, which, if passed, would ban the slaughter of American horses and outlaw the transport of horses to Canada and Mexico for that purpose.

If you feel strongly about the transportation of horses to Canada and Mexico for horse slaughter, you can sign the petition here.

And, if you want to bring more awareness to this issue, you can share this post on your social media pages or tweet the follow message: Tweet: Hungry enough to eat a horse? Help the @ASPCA keep horses off the dinner table. Sign the petition: http://ctt.ec/5sN7U+ #NotWhatIOrdered (Click to Tweet).

Ecogold: A full review & endorsement

So, every once in a while, we switch equine products. As some of you guys may know, I have been a huge Ogilvy fan for quite some time. In fact, my review of their half pad is what launched me into blogosphere popularity. However, I’ve come to try other half pads since then, namely Ecogold, and I have found them to be a better fit for my horse and myself.

Is Ogilvy a bad pad? No, not at all. It is honestly a personal preference, and as you know, many people say you can either like one or the other. Lately, I’ve been finding myself using Ecogold more and Ogilvy less.

To recap, even though I’ve done many reviews on Ecogold, their pads are:

  • Made of high-resilience foam
  • Non-slip
  • Some are vented, such as the Jumper Flip Half Pad , which also comes in a variety of colors and can be reversed for showing purposes if you don’t want a color look
  • Hypoallergenic
  • 100 percent breathable (super important for hot climates)
  • Washable (makes life easy)
  • Shock absorbent (good for your horse and you)
  • Move impact laterally on the horse’s back to minimize stress (amazing for your horse)
  • Some come with a CoolFit technology to further reduce sweating and heat (it really works)!
  • Comes for a variety of disciplines (this is always a good thing)

I currently own three half pads and two regular pads: the Stabilizer Half Pad, the Jumper Flip Half Pad, the Hunter Half Pad (this seems to be no longer available, but the Stabilizer Half Pad can double as a hunter half pad), and the Hunter CoolFit Pad.

I mainly show in the Hunter CoolFit Pad. It is perfectly contoured and accented with fleece for that classic, traditional look. I school in the Stabilizer or the Jumper Flip. My trainer has also become partial to the Hunter Flip as well.

Additionally, I own a regular saddle pad which boasts all the qualities of the half pads.

I adore the quality of the pads. Additionally, my Jumper Flip Half Pad; heck, all of my pads from Ecogold NEVER seem to get dirty, which is quite a feat considering they are around dirty animals all day.

Additionally, their customer service is amazing. I’ve never once had a problem contacting anyone from Ecogold, and they even offer saddle pads with custom logos!

My horses love these pads, and although they don’t fit every horse I own, they’re pretty damn reliable and easy to use on any horse. I also notice a difference in my own physique when riding (no back pain!), which is a huge plus. I’ve noticed a difference in my horse’s willingness to work under saddle, get round, and overall comfort.

Again, each pad is a personal preference, and I know many people who swear by Ogilvy, EquiFit, or even Invictus. My personal preference? Ecogold.

Check them out on the web here or on their social media!

ps. Their products are endorsed by the likes of Brittni Raflowitz, McLain Ward, Scott Stewart (whom my trainer worked and rode for, for many years), Boyd Martin, Karen O’Connor, and Doug Payne. You can see their whole Pro Team here.

pps. I am in no way endorsed by or sponsored by Ecogold. This is a 100 percent bias free review based on my own experiences and opinions.

Ecogold CoolFit™ Saddle Pad: New and improved

Ecogold CoolFit™ Dressage Saddle Pad

Ecogold is known for making saddle pads and half pads that benefit both rider and horse. I own quite a few of Ecogold’s products and have done reviews on many of them. Recently, the company released a new and improved version of its CoolFit™ Saddle Pad. According to a press release, the company has

“integrated smart textiles in its CoolFit™ Saddle Pad to create an intelligent saddle pad. Smart textiles are materials that can sense and react to environmental conditions or or stimuli from mechanical, thermal, chemical, electric or magnetic sources. Thanks to the innovative smart textiles, the CoolFit™ saddle pad senses the sweat of the horse and reacts by reducing its temperature, providing a healthier and more comfortable ride.”

What does this mean? When your horse sweats, and that sweat comes into contact with the pad, the temperature of that sweat is reduced by 9 degrees Fahrenheit or 5 degrees Celsius.

It is available in two different dressage, cross country, and jumper styles, and four different hunter styles. It is also non-slip, ergonomically designed, and shock absorption to protect your horse’s back.

They all retail for $195.

For a video showing how this technology works, press play below.

Book Review: Unrelenting: The Real Story: Horses, Bright Lights and My Pursuit of Excellence by George Morris

I recently read George Morris’ new book Unrelenting: The Real Story: Horses, Bright Lights and My Pursuit of Excellence. Mr. Morris warned it would be raw, uncensored, and the real story. He was right. In addition, it was peppered with quotes from those who have worked with him in the past and who know him. It truly shows the real story behind the hunt seat legend, and he leaves no detail uncovered.

It took me a while to finish the book. I am actually a quick reader, but I soaked in every detail, wanting to know more about the man most hunt seat equestrians look up to. I found the book engaging, interesting, and like he said, raw and real.

He goes through his story decade by decade, which I appreciated. There were a few things that surprised me most about him:

  • He was a timid rider;
  • He was a party boy;
  • He rode mostly Thoroughbreds, popular back then;
  • He is noted as kind and generous by many individuals quoted (not that I think he is mean, but he is known for being tough);
  • He used his perfectionism to his advantage;
  • He sometimes let a student wallow in their mistakes rather than disciplining or yelling at them

I found the book to be inspiring. As I said, one of the most surprising things was that Mr. Morris was a timid rider. I am a timid rider. However, he worked through that and got to where he is today. I also find inspiration in his perfectionism and how he uses it to his advantage, not letting it get to him in a negative way. That is something on which I need to work.

Another big thing is the popularity of Thoroughbreds back when he was honing his craft. I never knew this; after all, warmbloods are mostly, if not all, of what I’ve ridden and know.

He speaks candidly about the horse world; its weaknesses; America’s weaknesses; Europe’s strengths; and being gay, which I think is hugely important to recognize in the equestrian community. Male riders don’t see a stigma, as far as I know, for being gay, but you don’t see as many female riders coming out. As an avid LGBTQIA+ rights individual, I really appreciated his emphasis, though small, on this aspect of the community.

He is truly an inspiration, and I found his book to be motivating. I’ve even given it away twice, and I think anyone serious about riding would benefit from reading this text. It covers a lot of detail, and I learned a lot from it. I also found a lot of quotes that resonated with me, which I will be covering on the blog decade by decade.

For those of you that have read Hunter Seat Equitation, this book is a lot less technical. There are teachable excerpts and a general focus on technique and riding, but if you are looking to truly learn the correct, recommended way to ride hunt seat, I would encourage you to read the aforementioned book. I encourage you to read both books, in fact.

The book is long, but it is well worth it. It tells you all about Mr. Morris’ experiences – horse-related and non-horse-related – and it gives an idea of how things were prior to 2016. My biggest recognitions, as I said, are highlighted above.

Overall, the book is well-written, thoughtful, and very thorough – something I greatly appreciated. I also appreciated the quotes from those who have worked with him over the years, though I do think some equestrians were missing (Lillie Keenan, for example).

So what are you waiting for? Pick up a copy of this book and crack it open to learn even more than you did before. You won’t regret it.

Have you read the book? What do you think? Leave a comment below.

 

It’s okay not to be ready for something

Today’s post is short and sweet.

I signed up for a clinic a few months ago, and I was super pumped for it. Until my migraines got really bad and I could barely ride or function on a normal basis. Still, I had time to prepare for the clinic, so I wasn’t giving up just yet.

Well, the clinic is April 11, and all the sudden it’s April 6, and I am nowhere near ready.

So today, I had to make the tough decision to take myself out of the clinic. Am I bummed? Of course. But there will be more. And nothing could be worse than showing up at a clinic with someone well-known and me not being prepared or ready at all. That would just be embarrassing and detrimental to my learning and to my horse.

So the next time you think you have to do something, whether it’s a show, a clinic, or something else, and you don’t feel ready and don’t have the time to get ready, it’s okay to say no. Putting yourself, your confidence, and your horse first should always be the number one priority – no matter what.